Defense industry cautiously upbeat on sequester

So far, this fall’s lame-duck congressional session has been stuffed with sensationalism, but defense insiders are confident that a defense authorization bill and sequestration won’t fall by the wayside.

November’s return of Congress was supposed to bring focus on the National Defense Authorization Act and the avoidance of sequestration, but those priorities were interrupted by calls for a select committee to investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and the flurry of attention to CIA Director David Petraeus’s resignation over his extramarital affair.

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“It’s suddenly crowded with stuff that we had no idea was coming. … It took people a little off their game, it looks like,” said Bill McQuillen, vice president of public affairs for the consulting group JDA Frontline.

But while lobbyists and advocates can’t help but notice that their priorities aren’t making the morning television shows or drive-time radio discussions, they’re confident their issues will be addressed in hushed tones far from the view of the media.

“I’m working so hard on [the NDAA], but every time I lift my head up, it’s another report on Benghazi or Petraeus,” one defense lobbyist told POLITICO. “I’m still laser-focused on NDAA. There’s a consensus among staff and members that there will be a bill done. I think it is still in a good place.”

“There is a pretty strong scramble, both in industry and in government, in how to deal with these coming defense cuts. … I’m not too worried about the government juggling more than one ball at the same time,” added Robert Newton, the CEO of NCE, a defense engineering and consulting firm based in Tucson, Ariz. “What the industry cares about is that sequestration won’t dramatically affect the defense industry and the defense capabilities that we have. That’s the detail we’re just yearning to hear about in the industry.”

In fact, a shift in focus away from sequestration might be just what the doctor ordered.

“It’s better to have the Senate work on NDAA without pressure at this point,” said a senior staffer for a top defense firm. “We need some guidance — some sense of congressional priorities.”

The issue for many politicians, it seems, is that the solution to sequestration will be decided by a very small group of House and Senate leaders, forcing others to create ways of gathering attention.

“Other members need to find things to keep them busy and keep their names in the papers and faces on TV, so those House members and senators will focus on a Benghazi select committee and the Petraeus scandal — while the ‘real’ work gets done by the leadership,” the first defense lobbyist said.